If Anything

Editors’ Notes Toronto punk rockers Greys tip their hand by naming the opening cut here “Guy Picciotto” after the Rites of Spring and Fugazi guitarist; he's clearly a chief influence on this quartet’s approach to music. Many hard rock and punk '90s bands come to mind as the tracks reel past. The aggressive tempos are met by guitars steeped in so much distortion that it turns the string-wrangling into a nasty display of dissonance. Naturally, this is exactly what they want, and with singing that’s often more shredding than pitch, the impact is complete on songs like “Adderall,” “Pretty Grim," and “Brain Dead.” For a bit more catchiness, there’s the all-hands-on-deck rallying cry during “Chick Singer.” After releasing an EP a year for the past three years, Greys finally bring a full-length album to market. While the EP format lets them focus on smaller, more concise punches to the head, If Anything causes the group to think in different shades. “Girl in Landscape” sounds like a deep album cut. Or maybe it’s just an illusion that comes from being battered around for 34 minutes.